Athletic protector system

ABSTRACT

An athletic protector system includes a protective cup, a pre-conformed cooling liner, and an outer rim. The protective cup includes a base with a peripheral rim. The protective cup is configured to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto. The cooling liner includes a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge is configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim. The outer rim is configured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application61/843,938, filed Jul. 9, 2013, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to an athletic protector systemincluding a protective cup with cooling features. In particular, thepresent invention relates to an athletic protector system for humangenitalia or other body parts including a protective cup, apre-conformed contoured cooling liner, an outer rim, and an optionalventilation feature.

BACKGROUND

Athletic systems provide a removable, solid, generally rigid cup forprotection of human genitalia. These protective cups are typically usedin conjunction with a wearable garment designed to support and securethe cup. Conventional protective cups may include a cushioned perimeterand a hard shell with a plurality of holes for flow- throughventilation. These athletic systems are used in various sporting andmedical applications to improve the mobility and comfort of the userwhile shielding their genitalia from impact and injury. However, suchprotective cups typically lack supplemental cooling features.

For medical rehabilitation after surgery or injury to the genital area,such as resulting from a vasectomy or other testicular procedures,cooling of the genital area promotes healing while decreasing discomfortand swelling. Recovery instructions often recommend use of a coolingpack placed in the front of an undergarment to provide a cooling effectto the genital area. Athletes involved in strenuous sporting activitiessuch as football, soccer or baseball also find improved comfort in acooling effect to the genital area.

Existing genitalia cooling systems may include an athletic supportgarment with a pocket for receiving a removable cooling pouch. However,these systems do not provide adequate shielding protection or cooling tothe genital area. Further, the cooling pouches used in these systemslack a pre-conformed contoured shape, such as an elongated cup-shape.The known cooling pouches are not manufactured as pre-conformed to theelongated cup-shape of human genitalia, do not uniformly distribute thecooling medium in their deformed state when used, and cannot be evenly,closely attached to a standard shaped athletic protective cup. Toincrease the therapeutic and comfort benefits of a protective cup, thereis a need to provide a compact, pre-conformed cooling liner. There isalso a need for an athletic protector system including a protective cupwith a pre-conformed contoured cooling liner, and having an optionalventilation feature that overcomes these drawbacks.

SUMMARY

An athletic protector system is disclosed according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. The system includes a protective cup, apre-conformed cooling liner, and an outer rim. The protective cupincludes a base with a peripheral rim. The protective cup is configuredto receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto. Thecooling liner includes a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge isconfigured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of theperipheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheralrim. The outer rim is configured to generally match the contour of atleast a portion of the peripheral rim and is further configured to becoupled to the peripheral rim.

In one embodiment the disclosed invention includes an athletic protectorsystem including a protective cup, a pre-conformed cooling liner, and anouter rim. The protective cup includes a base with a peripheral rim. Theprotective cup is configured to receive and selectably secure thecooling liner and the outer rim thereto. The cooling liner includes aperipheral edge. The peripheral edge is configured to generally match acontour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim and is furtherconfigured to be selectably coupled to the peripheral rim. The outer rimhas an interior portion and an exterior portion. The outer rim isconfigured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of theperipheral rim and is further configured to be coupled to the peripheralrim. The exterior portion of the outer rim includes a finger tab whichallows the outer rim to deform when a user deflects the finger tabtoward an interior of the system to release the outer rim from theperipheral rim.

In one embodiment the disclosed invention includes a method forassembling an athletic protector system. The method includes obtaining aprotective cup having a base with a peripheral rim and obtaining acooling liner having a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge beingconfigured to generally match a contour of at least a portion of theperipheral rim. The method also includes obtaining an outer rimconfigured to generally match the contour of at least a portion of theperipheral rim. The method further includes configuring the protectivecup to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outer rim. Themethod additionally includes positioning the cooling liner against theprotective cup, coupling at least a portion of the peripheral edge to atleast a portion of the peripheral rim, and coupling the outer rim to theperipheral rim to secure the cooling liner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features of the inventive embodiments will become apparent tothose skilled in the art to which the embodiments relate from readingthe specification and claims with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are front and rear perspective views respectively of anathletic protector system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1C is a top plan view of the athletic protector system of FIGS. 1Aand 1B;

FIG. 1D is a bottom end elevation view of the athletic protector systemof FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 2 is a side view in section of the athletic protector system ofFIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the athletic protector system of FIGS. 1Aand 1B;

FIG. 4A is a rear view of the protective cup of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 4B is a side view of the protective cup of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 5A is a rear perspective view of a cooling liner of the athleticprotector system of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 5B is a top plan view of the cooling liner of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a side view in section of the cooling liner of FIG. 5B;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the of the cooling liner of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 8 is a top view of an outer rim of the athletic protector system ofFIGS. 1A and 1B; and

FIG. 9 is a side view in section through the outer rim of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the discussion that follows, like reference numerals are used torefer to like structures and elements in the various figures.

The general arrangement of an athletic protector system 10 is shown inFIGS. 1A through 1D and 2 through 9 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. Athletic protector system 10 includes a protectivecup 12, a cooling liner 14 and an outer rim 16. Protective cup 12 isconfigured to receive and generally permanently or selectably couple tocooling liner 14 and outer rim 16. The coupling may be made by anysuitable device, such as by fasteners, snaps, pins, rivets, adhesive,welding, friction fit, a hook-and-loop type closer such as Velcro®available from Velcro Industries of Willemstad in the Netherlands, ormolding.

Referring again to FIGS. 4A and 4B, protective cup 12 includes a base 18and a peripheral rim 20. Base 18 may further include one or moreoptional vents 22, of any suitable size and shape. Base 18 includes afront exterior surface 24, a rear interior surface 26 joined by agenerally circularly shaped curved edge 28. The base 18 may have apredetermined shape, for example an elongated, generally concavo-convexshape, such that front exterior surface 24 is generally convex and rearinterior surface 26 is generally concave. In some embodiments theoptional vents 22 may be generally triangularly-shaped and operate toallow air to flow between front exterior surface 24 and rear interiorsurface 26. Base 18 is generally triangular in shape and includes a topportion 30, an opposing bottom portion 32, and spaced-apart, opposingside portions 34. Top portion 30 is generally wider than bottom portion32, and both the top portion and the bottom portion are generallycoplanar. Each side portion 34 curves toward the front of base 18, andextends from the top portion 30 to the bottom portion 32. Vents 22 arepreferably disposed at the side portions 34, generally adjacentperipheral rim 20. Peripheral rim 20 is preferably integral to curvededge 28, but may be a separate piece that is attached to the curvededge. The cross section of peripheral rim 20 is generally circular, butmay be any suitable shape configured to selectably attach to outer rim16. Peripheral rim 20 includes one or more first fasteners 36 configuredfor selectable coupling to cooling liner 14 and to outer rim 16.

Protective cup 12 and outer rim 16 may be made of any suitable rigid,semi-rigid, or flexible material. For example, in some embodiments ofthe present invention, protective cup 12 is made from any suitablerelatively rigid, high-impact resistant material such as plastic, metal,or a composite, sufficient to protect a user's genital or other bodilyarea from outside impacts. Suitable plastic material may include,without limitation, low or high density polyethylene, thermoplasticrubber (TPR), and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

Referring again to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6 and 7, cooling liner 14 includes agenerally concave, generally flexible or semi-rigid exterior covering 38joined to a generally convex, generally flexible or semi-rigid interiorcovering 40. Interior covering 40 may be either permanently orselectably attached to exterior covering 38 to form an enclosure that isconfigured to receive and contain a cooling material 42. The attachmentmay be any suitable type, such as by ultrasonic welding, heat sealing,fastener or adhesive. Alternatively, the cooling liner 14 may be made ofa unitary construction. In an alternative embodiment, cooling liner 14may be a single sheet that is attached to the rear interior surface 26of protective cup 12, or manufactured as an integral part of theprotective cup, and configured to form an enclosure to receive andcontain the cooling material 42.

Exterior covering 38 of cooling liner 14 includes an exterior shell 39and a peripheral edge 44, while the interior covering 40 includes aninterior shell 41 and a peripheral lip 46, the peripheral lip beingattached to the exterior covering adjacent to the peripheral edge. Theinterior shell 41 may be further attached to the exterior shell 39 by atleast one spot weld 48. The spot weld 48 may be made by any suitableattachment, such as by welding, sealing, adhesive or fastener. Thecooling liner 14 is configured to maintain a generally uniform thicknessof the cooling material 42 inside the cooling liner.

The cooling liner 14 may be configured to be pre-conformed and contouredto a shape to generally match and attach to the contoured shape of theadjacent protective cup 12. The exterior shell 39 and the interior shell41 may include a pre-conformed cup-shape that is an elongated, generallyconvex and concave shape, respectively. In one embodiment, in use, theathletic protector system 10 may be positioned with the top portion 30adjacent the top area of the human genitalia, and the bottom portionadjacent the bottom area of the human genitalia. The pre-conformedcup-shape provides structural support to the cooling liner 14, such thatit generally maintains its shape in use and thus provides generallyuniform cooling without applying undue pressure upon the adjacent humanbody part, which may be sensitive, for example, after a surgicalprocedure. The pre-conformed cup-shape embodiment does not require thata human body part be used to deform and contour the shape of the coolingliner. In some embodiments, cooling liner 14 may be configured to beflexible and conformable in use to the contoured shape of the adjacentprotective cup 12 and to the contoured shape of the adjacent body part.

In some embodiments of the present invention the exterior shell 39 maybe configured to be pre-conformed and contoured to match a generallysmooth rear interior surface 26 of the protective cup 12, and theinterior shell 41 may be configured to be pre-conformed and contoureddifferently to match the convoluted shape of the adjacent body part,such as human toes, for example. Alternatively, the interior shell 41may be configured to be a generally concave or other suitable shape, andconfigured to be conformable in use to the contoured shape of adjacenthuman genitalia or other select body part. In an alternative embodiment,the cooling liner 14 may be configured to be a predetermined thicknessthat generally allows for an air gap between the interior covering 40and adjacent human genitalia or other body part. In one embodiment theathletic protector system 10 or the cooling liner 14 may be configuredto be custom pre-conformed to match the shape and contours of the user'sbody part.

The peripheral edge 44 of cooling liner 14 may be configured togenerally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim20 and may be further configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim. Asshown, the peripheral edge 44 is configured to be pre-conformed as agenerally semi-circular shape through its cross-section. The peripheraledge 44 includes at least one receptacle 50, the receptacle beingconfigured to be selectably coupled to the corresponding at least onefirst fastener 36. In one embodiment, the first fastener 36 includes aprotrusion 52, and the at least one receptacle 50 includes an aperture54 configured to receive the protrusion therethrough. Each of the topportion 30, the bottom portion 32, and the spaced-apart side portions 34of protective cup 12 may include one or more protrusions 52. Theperipheral edge 44 is shown as continuous, but may also be formed as oneor more separate portions or tabs. The peripheral edge 44 is shownremovably secured intermediate the peripheral rim 20 and the outer rim16, but alternatively, may be coupled to at least one of the peripheralrim 20 and the outer rim 16. In an alternative embodiment, theperipheral edge 44 includes an elastic edge (not shown), the elasticedge being configured to bias the peripheral edge toward the peripheralrim 20 when the athletic protector system 10 is assembled.

The exterior covering 38 and interior covering 40 of cooling liner 14may be made of any suitable flexible or semi-rigid material that ispreferably light weight and easily cleaned, such as plastic, rubber, orflexible polypropylene. In one embodiment, the cooling liner 14 isconfigured as an enclosure that includes one or more selectably sealableports (not shown) to allow filling and discharging of the cooling linerwith cooling material 42. In one embodiment, the cooling liner 14 mayinclude a removable insulating layer (not shown) adjacent the exteriorcovering 38. In one embodiment, the cooling liner 14 may include one ormore vent openings or cut-out portions (not shown) that align with thevents 22 of the protective cup 12. In one embodiment, athletic protectorsystem 10 is configured for use with an athletic support garment (notshown) configured to receive and removably secure the athletic protectorsystem.

The cooling material 42 may be any suitable chemical composition capableof phase-change for producing a cooling effect, and may remain flexibleafter freezing, such as a gel, for example. Suitable chemicalcompositions may include, but are not limited to, a mixture of a superabsorbent polymer, such as poly acrylate or carboxymethyl cellulose, forexample, polypropylene glycol, and water; or a mixture of ammoniumnitrate and water. The cooling material 42 may be a material capable ofproducing a cooling effect after chilling and a heating effect afterwarming of the cooling liner 14. Preferably, cooling liner 14 alsoretains flexibility after freezing. Alternatively, cooling material 42may include water or other substance that becomes rigid after freezing.Alternatively, the cooling liner 14 may instead be configured to producea heating effect for the body part area. The cooling liner 14 may be aremovable cold pack or heat pack that is rechargeable, replaceable, orcapable of activation through a chemical reaction. In one embodiment,the protective cup 12 is configured to accept and secure one or moreadditional cooling liners 14 inside or adjacent to the protective cup.The additional cooling liners 14 may be stacked or layered adjacent oneanother and may be configured to couple at their peripheral edges 44 toperipheral rim 20 and outer rim 16.

Referring again to FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer rim 16 is configured togenerally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim20 and further configured to be generally permanently or selectablycoupled to the peripheral rim. As shown, outer rim 16 is configured tobe pre-conformed as a generally semi-circular shape through itscross-section and includes a channel 56 configured to match the contourof at least a portion of the peripheral rim 20 and/or match the contourof at least a portion of the peripheral edge 44. The outer rim 16 may becoupled to the peripheral rim 20 by any suitable device, such as byfasteners, snaps, pins, rivets, adhesive, welding, friction fit, ahook-and-loop type closer such as Velcro® available from VelcroIndustries of Willemstad in the Netherlands, or molding. The outer rim16 is additionally configured to be generally permanently or selectablycoupled to the peripheral edge 44 of the cooling liner 14. Thecross-sections of peripheral rim 20, peripheral edge 44 and channel 56may be any suitable shape, including, but not limited to a “V” shape,square, oblong, and polygonal shapes.

The outer rim 16 may include at least one second fastener 58 configuredto attach to the corresponding first fastener 36 of the peripheral rim20. The second fastener 58 includes a port 60 configured to receive thecorresponding protrusion 52 of first fastener 36. The outer rim 16includes an interior portion 62 and an exterior portion 64, the exteriorportion including a finger tab 66. Finger tab 66 may extend fromexterior portion 64 adjacent to the top portion 30. Finger tab 66operates to allow the outer rim 16 to deform when a user deflects thefinger tab toward the interior of the athletic protector system 10 inorder to release the outer rim from the peripheral rim 20. In analternative embodiment the outer rim 16 may be made from a resilient ordeformable material, and may include any suitable impact absorbingmaterial, such as rubber, foam, gel, and gel-filled nodules.

Athletic protector system 10 may be assembled by first placing coolingliner 14 within protective cup 12 so that their matching contoured formsalign, and aligning and coupling protrusions 52 to correspondingapertures 54 such that peripheral edge 44 is adjacent to peripheral rim20 and exterior shell 39 is adjacent to rear interior surface 26. Next,the user may position outer rim 16 adjacent the peripheral rim 20 sotheir matching contoured forms align. Finally, the user aligns andcouples protrusions 52 to corresponding ports 60 to bring channel 56adjacent the peripheral edge 44 and attach to peripheral rim 20, thussecuring the cooling liner 14. The coupling may be continuous along theperipheral rim 20 or may include one or more portions of the peripheralrim. Athletic protector system 10 may be disassembled by performing thesteps in reverse, and using the finger tab 66 initially to release outerrim 16.

In preparation for use of the athletic protector system 10, the coolingliner 14 may be chilled by placing the cooling liner into a freezer orrefrigerator device, or by packing with ice or other cooling packsinside a cooler. Alternatively, the entire athletic protector system 10may be chilled. The user retrieves the chilled cooling liner 14 once ithas reached a desired temperature or frozen condition, and assembles theathletic protector system 10 as described above. In use, in oneembodiment, the user inserts the athletic protector system 10 into agenital pouch of a not-shown support garment with the cooling liner 14facing the adjacent human genitalia and moves the athletic protectorsystem into the desired position. After use for the desired period, theuser then removes and disassembles the athletic protector system 10 toremove the cooling liner 14 as described above. The user may then inserta replacement pre-chilled cooling liner 14 and either dispose of orclean and/or re-activate the used cooling liner 14 for reuse.Alternatively, the user may remove the used athletic protector system 10and insert a replacement pre-chilled athletic protector system.

Although shown in one embodiment with an elongated, generallyconcavo-convex shape to match the male genitals, in alternativeembodiments, the athletic protector system 10 may have various othershapes as suitable for use with various other human or mammal bodyparts. As non-limiting examples, the athletic protector system 10 mayhave other shapes suitable for use as elbow pads, knee pads, head pads,hand pads, foot pads, or breast pads. Alternatively, the base 18 mayhave an elongated, generally convexo-concave shape, with the frontexterior surface 24 being generally concave and the rear interiorsurface 26 being generally convex. Such an athletic protector system 10having a generally convexo-concave shape may be used for example toprovide relief from hemorrhoids or for therapy after various othersurgeries. In one embodiment, the athletic protector system 10 mayinclude one or more straps or adhesive configured to attach the systemto a corresponding body part (not shown). In one embodiment, theathletic protector system 10 may include a plurality of piecesselectively or hingedly joined together, such as including twoprotective cups for example, that may be used to partially enclose andconform to a body part, such as a hand or foot. With reference to FIGS.1C and 1D, non-limiting examples for dimensions in one embodiment ofathletic protector system 10 may include a length “L” of about 7.8inches, a height “H” of about 2.8 inches, and a width “W” of about 4.2inches.

While this invention has been shown and described with respect to adetailed embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that changes in form and detail thereof may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An athletic protector system, comprising: aprotective cup having a base with a peripheral rim; a cooling linerhaving a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge being configured togenerally match a contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rimand further being configured to be coupled to the peripheral rim; and anouter rim configured to generally match the contour of at least aportion of the peripheral rim and further configured to be coupled tothe peripheral rim, the protective cup being configured to receive andsecure the cooling liner and the outer rim thereto.
 2. The athleticprotector system of claim 1, wherein the cooling liner further includesa generally flexible exterior covering and generally flexible interiorcovering, the interior covering being attached to the exterior coveringto allow the cooling liner to receive and contain a cooling material. 3.The athletic protector system of claim 2 wherein the exterior coveringincludes the peripheral edge and the interior covering includes aperipheral lip, the peripheral lip being attached to the exteriorcovering adjacent to the peripheral edge.
 4. The athletic protectorsystem of claim 2 wherein the interior covering is further attached tothe exterior covering by at least one spot weld.
 5. The athleticprotector system of claim 2 wherein the cooling liner is configured tomaintain a generally uniform thickness of the cooling material insidethe cooling liner.
 6. The athletic protector system of claim 1 wherein:the base of the protective cup has a predetermined shape; and thecooling liner is configured to generally pre-conform to the shape of thebase of the protective cup.
 7. The athletic protector system of claim 1wherein the cooling liner includes a pre-conformed shape that is anelongated, generally concavo-convex shape.
 8. The athletic protectorsystem of claim 1 wherein the cooling liner is configured to beselectably coupled to the peripheral rim.
 9. The athletic protectorsystem of claim 1 wherein the outer rim is configured to be coupled tothe peripheral rim and to the peripheral edge.
 10. The athleticprotector system of claim 9 wherein the outer rim is configured to beselectably coupled to the peripheral rim and to the peripheral edge. 11.The athletic protector system of claim 1 wherein the protective cup isconfigured to selectably secure the cooling liner and the outer rimthereto.
 12. The athletic protector system of claim 1 wherein theperipheral edge is secured intermediate the peripheral rim and the outerrim.
 13. The athletic protector system of claim 12 wherein theperipheral edge is selectably secured intermediate the peripheral rimand the outer rim.
 14. The athletic protector system of claim 1 whereinthe cooling liner is generally flexible when frozen.
 15. The athleticprotector system of claim 1 wherein the protective cup includes at leastone vent.
 16. The athletic protector system of claim 1 wherein: theperipheral rim includes at least one first fastener; and the peripheralrim includes at least one corresponding second fastener, the at leastone first fastener being configured to be selectably coupled to thecorresponding at least one second fastener.
 17. The athletic protectorsystem of claim 16 wherein the peripheral edge includes at least onereceptacle, the receptacle being configured to be selectably coupled tothe corresponding at least one first fastener.
 18. The athleticprotector system of claim 17, wherein: the at least one first fastenerincludes a protrusion; the at least one receptacle includes an apertureconfigured to receive the protrusion therethrough; and the at least onesecond fastener includes a port configured to receive the protrusion.19. An athletic protector system, comprising: a protective cup having abase with a peripheral rim; a cooling liner having a peripheral edge,the peripheral edge being configured to generally match a contour of atleast a portion of the peripheral rim and further configured to beselectably coupled to the peripheral rim; and an outer rim having aninterior portion and an exterior portion, the outer rim being configuredto generally match the contour of at least a portion of the peripheralrim and further configured to be selectably coupled to the peripheralrim, the exterior portion including a finger tab, the protective cupbeing configured to receive and selectably secure the cooling liner andthe outer rim thereto, and the finger tab allowing the outer rim todeform when a user deflects the finger tab toward an interior of thesystem to release the outer rim from the peripheral rim.
 20. A methodfor assembling an athletic protector system, comprising the steps of:obtaining a protective cup having a base with a peripheral rim;obtaining a cooling liner having a peripheral edge, the peripheral edgebeing configured to generally match a contour of at least a portion ofthe peripheral rim; obtaining an outer rim configured to generally matchthe contour of at least a portion of the peripheral rim, configuring theprotective cup to receive and secure the cooling liner and the outerrim; positioning the cooling liner against the protective cup; couplingat least a portion of the peripheral edge to at least a portion of theperipheral rim; and coupling the outer rim to the peripheral rim tosecure the cooling liner.